APS_Jan2016

R aisin

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and accumulated degree day dependent, but the new cultivar has typically been harvested with adequately dried raisins prior to September’s end during the last 10 harvests.  The release of ‘Sunpreme’ for propagation and culture further facilitates mechanized raisin production by eliminating the cane severing operation. Cane severance and removal after harvest has been estimated at $326/ha, or 36% of total harvest/postharvest costs for San Joaquin Valley raisin vineyards (Vasquez et al., 2003). Vines of the new cultivar have been grown under several irrigation regimes since 2007 to examine long-term effects on crop productivity and vine health/vigor. Our current objective was to examine raisin quality and harvest suitability of cane- and spur-pruned vines grown in different irrigation plots. Materials and Methods Plant Materials. Vines used for the study were own-rooted clones of Vitis vinifera L. cv Sunpreme raisin grape, planted in 2005 at the research vineyard of the San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center in Parlier, CA. ‘Sunpreme’ is a newly-released natural dry- on-vine raisin grape bred by the Agricultural Research Service (Ramming, 2015). Vines to be maintained as spur-pruned were trained to quadrilateral cordons with seven two-bud spur positions per cordon. Cane-pruned vines were trained with six canes to split heads centered between the staked trunk and each lateral wire. Vines were cultured on a single cross arm (91 cm) T trellis positioned approximately 142 cm above the soil surface. Vine spacing was 2.44 m between vines and 3.66 m between rows (1122 vines/Ha). Irrigation treatments. Three irrigation treatments were imposed on ‘Sunpreme’ vines: 100% evapotranspiration (ET), 50% ET and a further reduced “Shock” treatment. Irrigation treatments were imposed on vines starting in the third leaf (2007), the first year production was allowed on the vines. As such, vines were accustomed to these irrigation volumes and timings, with six

evapotranspiration (Williams et al., 2010). Drying down the soil profile in raisin vineyards after verasion is a logical step in hastening the ripening process, as well as a necessary step in preparing vineyard rows as a drying bed for the paper trays of harvested grapes.  To combat problems of early winter rains, raisin grape breeders developed new cultivars with earlier maturity dates. ‘Fiesta’ was introduced in 1973 by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), providing growers with a raisin grape harvestable 12-14 days prior to ‘Thompson Seedless’ (Weinberger, 1973). Other ARS raisin cultivar releases followed, including ‘DOVine’ (Ramming, 1995) and ‘Selma Pete’ (Ramming, 2001), with each release having successively earlier fruit maturity dates.  Mechanized raisin production practices begun in the early 1950s first focused on harvest techniques. Mechanical cutting and shaking devices were devised to remove grape clusters cleanly from vines to save labor hours (Winkler and Lamouria, 1956, Winkler, et al., 1957). While cane or cluster cutting technology efficiency improved each year, it became apparent that the maturity window of ‘Thompson Seedless’ in the raisin grape region of the central San Joaquin Valley was simply too late to effectively and consistently dry down the fruit after cane cutting (Studer and Olmo, 1973). However, newer earlier-maturing raisin grape cultivars changed mechanized raisin production in California. Fruit maturity of ‘DOVine’ and ‘Selma Pete’ raisin cultivars are sufficiently early for drying fully on the vine with severed canes (Fidelibus et al., 2008).  Further raisin breeding efforts at ARS led to the development of ‘Sunpreme’ (B82-43), a raisin grape capable of drying naturally on the vine in the central San Joaquin Valley without severance of canes (Ramming, 2015). ‘Sunpreme’ fruit ripen early, with berry wilting and raisining being a natural progression after verasion. Actual harvest suitability of ‘Sunpreme’ is both crop load

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